Fishermen Try To Keep Dolphin Killing Hidden

December 15, 1992

Japanese fishermen killed 280 dolphins after dark and out of public view, fishery officials said last week.

Killing dolphins is legal in Japan - fishermen can catch 21,000 a year- and eating them is common. But the animals are considered highly intelligent in the West, and animal-rights groups abroad have asked fishermen to stop killing them.

Katsunobu Matsuoka, a Fisheries Agency official, said his office had advised fishermen to keep dolphin killings out of public view. So Dec. 2, fishermen at Futo, southwest of Tokyo, waited until after dark to kill dolphins they had forced ashore. They pierced their hearts with knives.